The Stalker
by PygmyCritter
Summary: Someone or something is stalking and eliminating the memebers of Torchwood. Can Jack find out who or what before he loses those who mean the most to him?
1. Chapter 1

It had been two days. Two days since anyone had seen or heard from Gwen. Rhys was a mess. She'd left their flat two days earlier for her final dress fitting, then was to have lunch with her maid-of-honor, but after that, no one had seen her.

The team chased down every lead they got, both from the police, and from their own investigations. Still, they'd come up with nothing. No sightings, no calls, no letters, nothing. She wasn't apt to do anything like this, just take off without word to anyone. Something was wrong, very wrong.

* * *

Gwen woke up in a dark, musty room. She couldn't see anything. She couldn't hear anything. Her head pounded, her body ached. She reached her hand up to her head and brought it back quickly when she felt something wet and sticky. Blood. She could smell it.

She tried to sit up, but quickly gave up that idea. Groaning and grabbing her stomach, she fell back to the ground.

"Help." she cried weakly.

She'd been there for at least a day, she thought. But she didn't know how long exactly.

She had her final dress fitting, her wedding only a week off, and then had a fun lunch with her maid-of-honor to over a last few minute details of her bachelorette party. The last thing she remembered was walking out to her car, nothing out of the ordinary, no one out of the ordinary. Then, with a pounding head, she woke up in this dark, dank room. No windows, no visible doors, and no sounds.

The lack of sound was the eeriest thing to her. She wanted to hear something. Mice squeaking in a corner, something. At least then she'd have a feeling of some sort of life around her.

She lay on the ground crying. All she wanted was to go home. To Rhys. She wanted to get married, to have their friends and family around them as they celebrated the happiest day of their lives up to that point. Her eyes darting around uselessly once more, she doubted that was ever going to happen.

Closing her eyes, she imagined herself home, with Rhys, and her friends from work.

"Happy thoughts, Gwen." she muttered to herself. "Happy thoughts. Someone will come for you."

As she said those last words, a door opened, letting in a bright white light. Squinting and turning away from the painful glare, she listened for approaching footsteps, but heard nothing still.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned her head towards the door. No one. She strained, trying to hear anything at all, but still nothing. With a groan, she forced herself to her feet. Taking a minute to compose herself, she took a deep breath and stumbled towards the door.

A long, white corridor stretched out to either side of her. No other doors, no windows, no people, and still, no sound.

"Hello?" she called quietly, not sure if she wanted anyone to answer. Slowly she turned to her left and headed down the hall.

After a few turns, she found herself at a door. Looking around, she still saw and heard nothing. Slowly, she turned the handle and let out a sob when she found herself outside.

Without even thinking, Gwen took off at a run, at least as much of one as she could muster considering the pain shooting through her with every jostling step. She saw her car sitting next to a tree, nothing else around it. Making her way straight for it, she stopped short when she heard a noise behind her.

Turning around, she saw someone standing there. Dressed completely in black, there was nothing to give away the person's identity. Loose fitting black trousers, turtle necked sweater, also rather loose fitting and a ski mask. Black gloves covered the person's hand which held a knife.

"Please." Gwen begged as she backed her way to her car. "Please."

The black-clad figure quickly approached and lashed out with the knife. Gwen threw her hands up in defense, but to no avail. As the knife slashed across her throat, she let out a low moan and a gurgle as she slumped to her knees.

"Rhys." she whispered hoarsely as she fell face first onto the soft grass.

Wiping the knife on their pants, the black clad figure, tucked it into their belt and threw Gwen over their shoulder and made their way to her car. They had a delivery to make.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack couldn't believe his eyes when he found Gwen that morning. He'd woken up to find her laying across his desk, posed really, arms folded across her still chest, her throat open like a hideous smile staring up at him.

It took him about fifteen minutes to be able to compose himself enough to call the others in. He'd thought about calling Owen when he'd first discovered her, but after checking several times, he found that it would be useless. She was gone. Dead.

"Jack?" Ianto called as he and the others filed into the hub.

"Down here." he called back as he sat next to Gwen on the autopsy table, holding her hand.

"Oh my God." Tosh whispered as she stopped dead in her tracks, Owen running into her.

"I found her on my desk." Jack said, his lower lip trembling as tears threatened.

"Have you called Rhys?" Ianto asked as he stared at Gwen's lifeless body.

"No." Jack answered. "How do I explain to him..."

"We'll figure out a way." Owen said absently as he came to stand on the other side of the table. "Why would anyone do this?" he asked as he felt his eyes burning from tears.

"I don't know." Jack said. "But I will find out and I will make them pay." he added vehemently.

"Poor Gwen." Tosh said, tears freely streaming down her face. "I can't believe..."

"I know." Ianto said as he moved to her side and hugged her, crying with her.

"I can't believe she's gone." Owen said, finishing Tosh's earlier thought, as he stared down at her, brushing some hair from her face.

"We're going to have to contact Rhys and her mother and father." Jack said. He had to be strong. He had to keep his team together, no matter how it hurt knowing one of his friends was gone for good.

"I'll do that." Ianto offered as he rubbed Tosh's back in an attempt to sooth her.

"How did they get in here?" Owen asked as he pulled a sheet over Gwen's body and face.

"I have no idea." Jack said as he watched her face disappear under the crisp white sheet. "I didn't hear anything. I was totally out last night."

"Did you find anything with her?" Ianto asked as he stared at the table.

"No." Jack shook his head. "Nothing."

"I think I'm going to go see Rhys." Ianto said. "Doesn't feel right telling him over the phone."

"I should do this." Jack argued. "I was her boss. I should be the one to tell him."

"You're not Rhys' favorite person, Jack." Ianto reminded him. "I don't think your presence would be much of a comfort."

"It's my responsibility." Jack said. "Gwen's..."

"It's just going to make him angry." Ianto said. "He's going to blame you if you show up." he added. "Just let me go and do this. He and I get on well enough. It'll give Owen time to clean her up so I can bring Rhys to see her again, before..."

"Fine then." Jack said. "You go and tell him that his fiancee is dead a week before their wedding." he added as he headed to his office. "He is going to blame me and he has every right to."

The group stared at one another as Jack's office door slammed shut. An awkward silence followed before Owen spoke up.

"I need to, uh, I need to clean her up before Rhys gets here." he stumbled on his words as he tried not to cry in front of the others. Plenty of time for that later, when he was alone.

"I need to get over so Rhys can know." Ianto said softly. "I'll be back in a bit." he said.

"Be careful." Tosh called after him.

"I always am." he said with a half-hearted smile as he left the hub and headed to his car.

Tosh watched for a moment as Owen began his prep, and decided to leave him to it. Not only to clean Gwen's body up, and to stitch her up, but to give him time alone to grieve.

She headed to her computer and sat down and watched on the CCTV as Ianto made his way to his car. She didn't envy him at all. To have to tell Rhys that Gwen was dead. That she had been murdered by someone who obviously had it out for Torchwood. She shuddered at the thought of it.

She turned away for a second to grab her cup of coffee that she'd brought in with her that morning and by the time she turned around, she couldn't breathe for the sight on her screen.

"Owen!" she called. "Jack!" she screamed as she jumped to her feet and headed for the door.

"What?" Owen called as he ran up.

"Toshiko?" Jack called as he came out of his office and leaned over the railing, watching her run out. "Owen?"

"Jack." Owen whispered as he stopped and stared at the screen Tosh had just been looking at.

"What?" Jack asked as he came down to stand where Owen stood frozen.

His stomach dropped at the sight of flaming wreckage on the screen.

"Ianto!" Jack screamed as he ran out after Tosh.

By the time the three of them got to the parking lot, Ianto's black Audi was a ball of flames, sirens were blaring and people were running about screaming.

"I was walking by with my Tommy and the next thing there's this loud explosion." one woman said as she held a small boy to her.

"Poor sod." a man commented as he stared at the sight in front of them. "What a way to go."

"I assume there's not much chance of him surviving that." another said, shaking his head.

"Ianto." Jack said as he broke through the crowd that had gathered.

"Jack." Tosh and Owen both called after him, but he didn't pay any attention.

First Gwen, now Ianto. Jack had no idea who was doing this. Or why. All he knew is that he was losing those who meant the most to him.


	3. Chapter 3

Jack walked silently back into the hub. Seeing Ianto's blackened corpse be removed from the charred remains of his car was too much.

He'd lost him. For the first time in such a long, long time he was happy. And now...

"Jack." Tosh said softly as she came in behind him, wiping the fresh tears from her face.

"I'm going to my office." he said, his voice quivering. "Just leave me for a while."

"Ianto and Gwen." Tosh said, tears falling again.

"I know." Owen said as he hugged her tightly. "I know."

"The cameras." Tosh suddenly said, breaking away from Owen.

"What?" he asked confused.

"We have cameras all over this place." she explained as she took a new tissue from its dispenser and sat down at her computer. "Maybe we can see who brought Gwen in..."

"If they found a way in without setting off alarms, and not waking Jack." Owen began as he moved to her side. "Then they probably found a way to disarm the cameras."

"It's worth a try at least." Tosh argued as she brought up the screen.

Blackness. Nothing but blackness appeared when she brought them up. The last thing they picked up was them heading off home.

"It was worth a try." Tosh sighed.

"I know." Owen said as he ran his hand through his hair. "We've lost two teammates, two friends in one day."

"What if they come after us next?" she asked nervously. "You, Jack and I?"

"I won't let them do anything to you." Owen said, looking over at her. "I promise."

"Thank you." she said quietly. "One of us should probably go check on Jack." she added after a moment.

"I'll go." Owen said. "You get your stuff together and I'll take you home after I've checked on Jack."

"Rhys." Tosh said as Owen started to walk off. "No one's told him."

"I will." he said.

"Isn't that going to be a bit...uncomfortable?" she asked.

"He doesn't know, so he'll be alright, apart from being told his fiancee is dead." Owen said. "I'll get over it. My discomfort will be nothing compared to what he's going to have to go through."

"True enough." Tosh said as she slipped her coat on and pulled out a new tissue.

"I'll be right back." Owen told her as he headed off to Jack's office.

Entering the room, he didn't see Jack at first. He was sitting in the chair behind his desk, not on the sofa that sat against one wall. He didn't see him down in his room.

A noise behind the desk got his attention and he walked around to find Jack sitting propped against the wall with a bottle of scotch in his hand.

"Oh, come on, Jack." Owen groaned. "Now is so not the time."

"Just go away, Owen." Jack said as he looked up. "I've seen two of my team dead today, one of which, I loved..." he broke off and took a long drink. "It's my fault."

"And you're not the only one who lost 'em." Owen pointed out. "There's three of us left. Two of which can be killed just like Gwen and Ianto."

"Just go away." Jack replied, glaring at Owen. "Let me have one drunken night."

"And if this psycho comes after Tosh while you're having your drunken night?" Owen asked, growing more and more angry with every sip Jack took. "If he comes after you or me?"

"Just go!" Jack yelled.

"Now is not the time to be a selfish, wallowing prat." Owen said as he spun on his heel. "What happened to Gwen and Ianto wasn't your fault." he called back over his shoulder. "But if anything happens to Tosh, that will be your fault." he added before leaving.

Tosh tossed her purse onto the sofa and sank down next to it and dissolved into more tears. It still bothered her how quickly everything could go from being just fine and normal, as normal as it could be when one worked for Torchwood, to suddenly having your world collapse around you.

She and Gwen hadn't been particularly close, but they were friends, they'd been through a lot together. And now she was gone.

And Ianto. They had been friends. No one had known, but they often got together to discuss what went on at work, how it made them feel. There were times when he'd been her one true friend. And now. She'd nearly seen his death. His murder. It didn't matter whether or not she'd actually seen it. He was gone, and that's all there was to it.

A knock at the door broke through her black thoughts. Wiping her eyes and drying her face as best she could, she took a few steadying breaths and answered the door.

Who she saw standing there shocked her.

Ianto. Dressed in black. Loose fitting black. But still, almost as immaculate as his perfectly pressed suits somehow.

"Hello." he said with a grin. "Miss me?"

"Ianto!" Tosh cried as she through her arms around him. "We thought you were dead."

"I know." he said as he hugged her. "Just as I wanted you to." he whispered in her ear.

"What?" she asked as she stepped back to see a hideous smile spread across his features. "Ianto?"

"Weren't the flames beautiful?" he asked with a laugh. "So bright and brilliant."

"Ianto, you're scaring me." Tosh said as she stepped away.

"Silly me." he said. "I don't want to do that." he added as he pulled a night stick from his pocket and hit in her in the head. "If you're scared, you might call for help." he chuckled as he picked her up and carefully slipped out of the building with her.

Three down, two to go. All though, he was saving the best, the most fun, for last, he thought with an icy laugh. Jack.

* * *

**Notes: Okay, people need not fear. Ianto lives! Hope you enjoy the dark Ianto :) If not, too bad, for now he's evil. Have fun!**


	4. Chapter 4

He'd never seen a grown man cry so much. Especially not such a large man. But that was to be expected when one was just told that the woman they loved, the woman they planned on spending the rest of their life with was dead.

He yawned as he made his way down into the hub. It had been a long night to say the least, and having to come in extra early to clean Ianto's body up as best he could considering didn't help.

He was hoping to get in quietly so Jack wouldn't hear him and hang over his shoulder to watch every move he made while taking care of what remained of Ianto. With the headstart he had on the scotch the day before, he doubted he'd have much trouble in that area.

"Owen?" he heard Jack's voice call out.

Damn, he thought, so much for that.

"Owen!" Jack's voice became more demanding.

"Jack?" he called as he made his way down to the autopsy room. "What are you doing?" he asked as he stopped and stared at Jack taking measurements of Ianto's body.

"It's not him." Jack said breathlessly.

"What?" Owen asked, dazed by the sight.

"It's not him." Jack repeated. "It's too short. It's not Ianto."

"So, who is it?" Owen asked, stifling another yawn. "And where is Ianto if this isn't..."

"I don't know." Jack said. "All I know is that this isn't him."

"Jack, with the damage done to him in the explosion." Owen began as he put a hand on the other man's shoulder.

"Damn it, Owen, don't patronize me." Jack said as he moved back away from Owen. "This isn't him. I don't know who it is or where Ianto is, but I'm going to find him."

"I'm sorry." Owen said as he watched Jack grab his greatcoat and head for the door. "Where are you going?"

"Out." is all Jack said.

"Okay then." Owen mumbled as he turned his attention to the body on the autopsy table. "If you're not Ianto, then, who are you?" he asked as he set to work.

* * *

Jack slowly walked around the area where Ianto's car had been sitting. Bits of glass, metal, leather from the seats, carpet and a layer of sand they had put down to soak up the fluids from the car littered the ground around him.

"No one saw him." Jack mumbled to himself. "No one saw him get in."

He walked around, growing frustrated by the fact he had no idea what he was looking for. Finally, sighing, he headed to the SUV. He'd look around Ianto's flat. He didn't know, once again, what he was looking for, but it couldn't hurt.

That's what he thought at least. That it couldn't hurt. That was until he let himself in and looked around. Everything nice and tidy, in its place. Ianto's knack for being organized was a bit frightening at times really.

He poked around in cupboards, closets, dressers, medicine cabinets, still with no real knowledge of what he was searching so diligently for. Growing more and more annoyed with himself and the situation Torchwood was in, he decided to head back to the hub to see if Tosh and Owen had found anything useful.

As he was about to leave, a beeping noise caught his attention. Following the noise, he found what he had originally thought was nothing more than a remote control. Looking at it more closely, he realized it was an artifact the team had found a month or so before. It was among the wreckage of a ship that had landed in the middle of a farmer's field a few miles outside of Cardiff.

Picking up the device, he headed back to the hub. When he arrived he found a livid Owen pacing back and forth, glaring at him when he walked in.

"Did you turn your comms off?" Owen asked.

"I forgot to turn them on." Jack answered, curious as to what had Owen so bothered.

"Tosh isn't here." Owen pointed out.

"After yesterday, she's probably taking some time." Jack replied as he took out the device he'd found at Ianto's.

"I've called her flat, tried her mobile and nothing." Owen said. "Why the hell are you being so nonchalante about the fact that she's not getting in touch with us?"

"Sorry." Jack said. "My mind is wandering."

"Well, I'm going over to her place to see if she's there." Owen said as he grabbed his jacket and headed for the door.

"Do you know what this is?" Jack asked him as he held up the device.

"No." Owen said. "Tosh was supposed to do some checking, but never got round to it."

"I found it at Ianto's." Jack explained.

"Lovely." Owen said impatiently. "I'm going to Tosh's now. You coming?"

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea." Jack said as he stared down at the strange thing in his hand, still beeping away.

"Why did Ianto have that at his place?" Owen asked as they adjusted their seatbelts.

"I don't know." Jack shrugged. "All of us know the policy on not taking things out of the hub..."

"But we've all done it anyways." Owen finished as he flew around a corner.

"But why this?" Jack asked as he stared down at it. "And what does it do?"

"Dunno." Owen answered as he slammed the brakes in front of Tosh's building. "Still no answer." he said as he tried to call her again.

The two men quickly ran to Tosh's flat and knocked on the door. As Owen's fist touched the door, it slowly swung open.

"Tosh?" Owen called.

They slowly walked in, listening for any sound. Nothing.

"Tosh!" Jack called as he spotted an overturned table.

"Jack." Owen said as he read a piece of paper that was taped to the wall.

"What is it?" Jack asked as he moved to stand next to Owen.

"He's taunting us. I can't believe this! You think you know a person." Owen said as he handed the note over to Jack.

_My dearest Jack and Owen_

_I want to express my deepest sympathies on your recent loss. Such a shame to die so young, so unexpectedly. And so close to her wedding day. Poor Rhys, so broken up. Just as you were Jack. I can just imagine your heartbroken sobs when hearing of my death._

"Ianto?" Jack asked in complete shock. "It can't be..."

"Well according to the note, it is." Owen said. "He's got her. He's got Tosh."

"No." Jack said as he looked back down at the partially read note. "This isn't Ianto."

"Who then?" Owen asked, hoping Jack had a good answer.

"I don't know..." Jack mumbled as he turned his attention back to the letter.

_I have to thank you for this chance, Jack. You've all proven to be the most fun of all of my conquests. Thank you, sincerely. Don't worry about Tosh, you'll be seeing her again, soon enough. Though, you may not care for what you see._

"He's going to kill her, Jack." Owen said.

"This isn't Ianto." Jack repeated as he darted out of the room, Owen right behind him.

"Where are you going?" Owen asked as he tried to keep up with the taller man's strides.

"That device." Jack said as he opened the door to the SUV. "Ianto doing all of this and that thing are connected."

"How do you know that?" Owen asked. "Maybe your precious tea boy just harbors a very dark, demented side."

"It's not him!" Jack hissed. "I know Ianto, and this isn't him."

"Even if this thing has something to do with it, it doesn't change the fact that Gwen is dead and that Tosh is next." Owen pointed out.

"I'm going to find him." Jack said as he climbed behind the wheel. "I'm going to find Ianto, and Tosh, and I'll prove to you that this isn't really Ianto." he promised as he slammed the door and took off, leaving Owen standing on the sidewalk staring after him in confusion and fear.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, finally I've gotten around to doing another chapter. I'm going to be starting a Robin Hood fic when I'm done with this chapter, so I'll be going back and forth between the two, so hopefully I can keep up. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and that not too many of you are too appalled by Ianto's naughties.**


	5. Chapter 5

"Ianto, please." Tosh sobbed.

Her entire body was throbbing in pain as she hung by her wrists from the ceiling.

"Ianto, please." Ianto mocked as he brought out a tray of surgical instruments and polished them.

"Why are you doing this?" Tosh asked.

"Um, for fun." he answered as though it was a stupid question.

"You don't really want to do this." Tosh said, trying anything she could think of that might help her.

"Of course I do, silly." he said with a laugh. "I've wanted to do this since the first time I saw you."

"Ianto, please. Don't do this." Tosh begged as she watched helplessly as he continued to polish the stainless steel instruments with glee, looking at her now and then and laughing.

"Keep begging, Tosh." he said as he picked up a scalpel and walked towards her. "It just adds that little something."

"Jack and Owen..." she began, closing her eyes as he got closer.

"Are both rather incompitent in case you haven't noticed." he said happily. "Surely, you've noticed that." he added. "Besides, they didn't help Gwen, now did they?"

"Ianto, no!" Tosh wailed as he pressed the scalpel and slowly dragged it down her arm softly.

Her breathing became more ragged as she braced herself for the pain that she knew was coming. It didn't help though as the blade pierced her flesh and she felt blood trickling down her arm and a throbbing pain.

"Isn't this fun?" Ianto asked as he stepped away to admire his work. "We just don't get to spend enough time together, one on one, Tosh."

"Ianto." she sobbed again. "Please."

"Shhh." he said soothingly. "No more from my little scalpel friend for now." he assured her. "But the fun is hardly over." he added as he picked up a container.

"I'll do whatever you want, just please, no more." Tosh cried.

"You are doing what I want." Ianto said. "Think of how much joy you're bringing me right now." he said as he opened the container that Tosh could see now was table salt. "Thank you for the offer though." he added as he took the salt, poured some in his hand and rubbed it into her wound.

* * *

"Owen?" Jack called as he heard someone coming into the hub.

"Oh, so you do remember I bloody exsist?" Owen asked angrily as he tossed his jacket into a chair.

"I had to do some checking on somethings." Jack said absently as he typed away at Tosh's computer.

"And you just didn't have time to wait one damned minute so I could get into the car?" he asked as he glared at Jack.

"Tosh got started on figuring that thing out." Jack said, ignoring Owen's complaints.

"What did she find?" Owen asked, trying to peer over Jack's shoulder.

"Not too much, unfortunately." he answered. "Just that it didn't appear to have much of a purpose that she could find." he sighed as he stepped back. "Then she noted that the thing had gone missing."

"Why didn't she say anything to anyone about it just suddenly vanishing?" Owen wondered.

"She wrote this up just a few days before Gwen went missing." Jack replied. "After that, we were all so busy searching for her..it probably slipped her mind."

"So, this little thing is what's causing all these problems then?" Owen asked as he picked up the device and looked it over.

As he looked at it, the only thing he could think of was a television remote. It looked harmless enough, but obviously, he was wrong. Apparently Ianto was too.

"Why in the hell did Ianto take it home with him?" Jack asked as he stared at it as Owen turned it over in his hands. "And what about it..."

"Damn it!" Owen hissed as he dropped the device and looked down at his hand. It had felt like something had stung him, but obviously there were no bees or anything down in the hub.

"You okay?" Jack asked as he came to stand next to Owen.

"Yeah." Owen said as he hissed in pain, looking down at his hand where a small drop of blood was forming. "Damn thing has some sort of needles in it or something." he said as he inspected the area where he could see a small pinprick where something had stabbed him.

"Owen, don't take this the wrong way." Jack said as he picked the device up and locked it in a drawer. "But, I'm going to ask you to go down into the cells."

"Excuse me?" Owen asked as he stared at Jack in confusion.

"If this thing has turned Ianto into a psychopath, then maybe that pinprick is what sets it off." Jack said.

"A jab from a needle makes someone a serial killer?" Owen asked, laughing at the idea. "Did Ianto have any pinpricks anywhere on him?"

"I didn't have much of a chance to check him over for them." Jack said. "I can honestly say, it never occured to me."

"Well, that's a shame." Owen said as he shook his hand back and forth. "Damn things stings like hell."

"Owen, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to..." his voice trailed off as the device he'd stuffed in the drawer starting beeping louder and louder. "Come on." he said as he took Owen by the elbow and led him down to the cells.

"Oh, come on Jack." Owen protested.

"Sorry, but I don't need two of my team running around Cardiff killing innocent people." Jack said as he shut the door and locked it. "I'll be back soon, hopefully with Ianto and Tosh."

* * *

Tosh hung limply from her restraints. Ianto seemed to be taking a break from his bit of fun and was smoking a cigarette while he sat in a chair and smiled at her.

"I swear, all this fun does make a person tired." he drawled as he leaned back in his chair. "How are you feeling?" he asked with a laugh. "You're looking a little haggard, I must say."

Tosh refused to say anything, she refused to even look at him. That just seemed to spur him on. He seemed to get such joy from her pleas and cries for mercy. No, she was just going to hang there and not say a word, not make a sound, no matter what he did or said.

"You're ignoring me." he pouted. "You're no fun." he said as he got up and started towards her.

Tosh braced herself for an onslaught of pain, and couldn't help but look in Ianto's direction when no pain came.

"I have a friend." he whispered with a smile. "My brothers are joining me!" he giggled manically. "Stay here." he said as he turned to leave. "What am I saying?" he laughed. "You're just going to hang around for a bit longer, aren't you my sweet." he pinched her cheek before leaving. "I'm coming brother."


	6. Chapter 6

Ianto followed the beeping noise that only he could hear. He tried not to look too excited as he walked along, looking for his brother.

"Where are you?" he whispered as he walked past a greengrocer's. "I need your help."

He stopped suddenly, knocking the woman who was walking behind him to the ground. Ignoring the woman who was glaring at him as another man helped her to her feet, he looked around, eyes darting here and there before finally stopping on the entrance to an alley.

"Brother." he whispered. He dashed across the street, paying no attention to the car horns blaring at him as drivers slammed on their brakes to avoid hitting him. "Brother?" he whispered as he slowly walked down the alley.

The beeping grew louder and louder as he moved further back into the enclosed space. Looking around, he could see nothing and noone, but the beeping grew more intense.

"Brother!" he hissed in anger.

"Sorry." Jack's voice said from behind him. "Not your brother." he added as he knocked Ianto over the head.

When Ianto came to, they were still in the alley and Jack stood above him, arms crossed over his chest and looking very serious. His hands and legs were tied together, and he knew there was no getting away.

"What, not going to cart me back to the hub?" he asked as he smiled up at Jack.

"Not until you tell me where you have Toshiko." Jack said calmly, not wanting to betray his panic at all.

"How do you know she's not already dead?" Ianto asked as he wriggled his wrists.

"If she was, you would have dropped her off where we could find her." Jack answered. "Like you did with Gwen."

"Oh, Gwen." Ianto smiled. "Such fun that was. Although, I didn't think that damn friend of hers would ever leave. Bitch just talked and talked and talked."

"Where is Toshiko?" Jack asked, refusing to give into the bait.

"Around." he shrugged. "We could play a game." he said, his eyes gleaming. "You drive around, and I'll tell you if you're close or not."

"How do I know I can trust you to let me know, honestly, if I'm anywhere near?" Jack asked as he knelt down so as to be eye to eye with Ianto.

"You don't." Ianto chuckled. "Part of the fun." he said. "You like fun, don't you, Jack?"

"If you jerk me around, I swear..." Jack threatened.

"You won't do anything." Ianto smiled. "Not so long as I look like this. As long as I look like your precious Welshman, you won't have the guts to do a damn thing to me."

Jack stood up and glared down at the man in front of him. He looked like Ianto, he sounded like him, he even smelled like him, but Jack knew from that evil glint that never seemed to leave his eyes that it was definitely not him.

It bothered him that he was right, too. As long as it was Ianto's face looking at him, he couldn't bear to do anything to him. His threats were empty, and this thing that had taken over Ianto knew it.

"You want to be able to meet up with your brother, don't you?" Jack asked, using the only thing he could think of.

"And how do I know you're not lying about my brother actually being here?" Ianto asked.

"You don't." Jack replied. "That's part of the fun. You like fun, don't you?" he asked, repeating Ianto's words, and annoying him ever so slightly, which made Jack grin.

"Fine." Ianto said. "On one condition." he said as Jack reached down to haul him to his feet.

"What?" Jack asked nervously.

"No tricks." Ianto said.

"You already know I won't do anything to you." Jack said. "Hurting you would be hurting Ianto. That's not going to happen."

"Oh, that is so beautiful." Ianto mockingly sobbed. "Your love knows no bounds, you'll die for him, you'll kill for him..." he laughed. "I could go on and on with this."

"Toshiko." Jack said firmly. "You take me to her, you get to see your brother."

"On neutral ground." Ianto said as Jack hauled him up.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked.

"Not at the hub, that's your territory, that would hardly be fair to either my brother or myself." Ianto said as he tried to flick some dirt from his clothes.

"You've killed one of my teammates, one of my friends, you've taken over Ianto, you have Toshiko holed up somewhere doing God only knows what and you'd have come after Owen and I next, and you're talking about things being unfair?" Jack asked completely appalled.

"If you put it that way, it all sounds so negitive." Ianto said with a sad sigh. "You want your little Japanese genius back, don't you?"

Jack took a deep breath. "Fine." he said through gritted teeth.

"Wonderful." Ianto said, as though he'd just won some huge victory.

"Let's go." Jack said, yanking Ianto along behind him.

Ianto sat in the passenger side of the SUV and looked smug as Jack drove along, waiting for him to tell him where to stop.

"You're getting warmer." he said.

Jack took a deep breath and continued to drive along.

"Burning up." Ianto laughed.

"Is this the building or not?" Jack asked as he stopped the car and glared over at the other man.

"Yes." he giggled.

"Come on." Jack said as he climbed out and dragged Ianto with him.

"If I'd known I was going to have company, besides little Tosh, I would have cleaned the place up a bit." Ianto joked as they rode the elevator up to the fifth floor.

Jack just kept taking deep breaths, reminding him of why he was here, why he had to put up with this creep who had taken over Ianto. "Must keep them safe." he whispered to himself.

"Doing a bang up job of that." Ianto said as he leaned over, smiling again.

The elevator stopped and the two men stepped out. Ianto nodded towards a door at the far end of the hall and they walked towards it.

"The door's locked." Jack said as he turned the handle.

"Of course it is." Ianto said as he rolled his eyes. "With your people's crime rates, one has to lock their doors."

"Where's the key?" Jack asked, losing patience.

"My pocket." he answered. "Go ahead, reach in, you know you want to." he wiggled his eyebrows.

"If you've hurt her..." Jack said as he fished the key out of the pants pocket as quickly as he could.

"Well, what would be the point in taking her if I didn't?" Ianto asked. "Really, humans."

Jack unlocked the door and dragged Ianto in behind him. Looking around, his eyes came to rest on the radiator that stood against the far wall. Forcing Ianto over, he handcuffed him to the radiator and went to get Tosh.

"Toshiko!" he called out.

"Jack?" he heard a weak voice call back.

"Tosh?" he called as he followed the low moans into a bedroom.

The curtains were drawn shut, the walls were covered in pillows, as were the ceiling and floor. Tosh hung by her wrists still, blood dripping down her arms. Her face was swollen, as was her bottom lip. Her face was drenched in tears and sweat as she just barely stood on her tiptoes to keep some of her weight off her arms.

"Tosh." he whispered as he lowered her down.

"Jack." she mumbled into his chest.

"It's okay." he said as he picked her up and took her into the bathroom to try to clean her up a bit before taking her outside. "I'm so sorry." he said as he ran a washcloth under the tap.

"Not your fault." Tosh muttered as she slumped back against the tank of the toilet. "Where is he?" she asked.

"Out in the living room." Jack said. "He's chained to the radiator, don't worry." he said as he dabbed at her bloodied and bruised face before turning his attention to her arms.

"Ianto?" she asked as she winced in pain.

"Not him." Jack said. "That device, I don't know how, but this is all because of that."

"Where's Owen?" Tosh asked as she looked around, just noticing that he wasn't there.

"Locked in the cells at the hub." he answered as he tossed the washcloth down and draped his coat around her shoulders before lifting her to her feet and helping her to the front door.

"Leaving already?" Ianto asked as he patiently sat handcuffed.

"I'm getting her down to the SUV, I'll be back for you." Jack said as he opened the door.

"Can't wait." Ianto said.

"Jack, is he going to be alright?" Tosh asked as he helped into the elevator.

"Yes." Jack said as he held her up. "I'll make sure we get Ianto back."


	7. Chapter 7

Jack made his way down into the hub helping Tosh walk along and dragging Ianto behind them.

"Where is he?" Ianto asked, looking around. "Where is my brother? I can sense him, I can smell him."

"Who is this brother he keeps going on about, Jack?" Tosh asked as she happily settled into her chair.

"I'll explain in just a minute." Jack said as he yanked on Ianto's restraints. "Come on, I'll take you to see your brother." he added as he dragged him down into the cells.

Tosh sat, waiting for Jack to come and explain what exactly was going on, happy to be sitting at her desk, in her chair, not chained to a ceiling.

"Alright then." Jack said when he came back. "Come on down to the medi bay, we need to at least get some bandages on those."

"Where's Owen?" Tosh asked as she followed Jack slowly, her arm still aching horribly.

"Owen's down in the cells." he answered uneasily.

"Why?" Tosh asked, not sure if she really wanted to hear his answer.

"You know that 'brother' Ianto keeps babbling about?" he asked as he took out some bandages and alcohol for her cuts.

"Owen?" Tosh said. "Owen is that brother?"

"In a sense, so it would seem." Jack nodded as he poured some alcohol on a gauze pad and cleaned her arm.

"What happened?" Tosh asked. "How did Owen..."

"That device." he said as he gently dabbed at her wounds. "When Ianto died, or so we thought, I went to his place and found it. I checked on what you'd found out about it, and while I was doing that, it pricked Owen with something."

"Did he start acting oddly?" she asked as she gritted her teeth in pain as the alochol stung. "Did he try to hurt you?"

"No." Jack shook his head. "I did it as more of a precaution, but when he started calling Owen his brother, that makes me feel better about locking Owen away down there."

"I'm sure he was thrilled." Tosh said as she bit her lip as he finished up.

"Okay." Jack said, stepping back. "Owen should really be the one to take a look..."

"That's alright, I can wait until he's himself again." Tosh quickly said.

"Yeah, I don't think now would be the time for him to play doctor." Jack said.

Tosh and Jack sat in silence for a moment, each of them wondering if Owen and Ianto would be back to them oldselves or if...

"What is that?" Tosh asked, clasping her hands over her ears to block out the loud, almost bloodcurdling howling that was eminating from the cells.

"I don't know." Jack gasped in pain. "Must be them..."

* * *

"Give this some time." Ianto was saying to Owen. "Soon, they'll be out and we can make our hasty exit."

"Good, I'm sick of being locked up down here with such inferior species." Owen said back, both men communicating mentally, using their vocal cords to drive Jack and Tosh insane with a high pitched howling.

Janet curled up in a corner of her cell, crying in pain as the sound grew more and more intense, the Roman soldier tried to use his flat pillow to block out the deafening sound.

"Such weaklings." Owen snorted. "We're bearly at 150 decibels, and they're cringing." he laughed as they continued their auditory assault.

As the soldier dropped to his knees and Janet's wailng grew more intense, Ianto took out a small device that quickly opened the door to his cell. Continuing with his howling, he opened Owen's and smiled at one another. How simple, they thought.

"One good thing about using these bodies." Owen said gleefully. "Their memories remain. We know how to get out of here using those tunnels."

"Very kind of them to oblige us so, isn't it." Ianto agreed as they headed off down the tunnels, to freedom and more carnage.

The howling finally, thankfully, stopped. Jack and Tosh stumbled to their feet and made their way over to the monitors and brought up the camera from the cells.

"Damn it!" Jack hissed when they saw two cells empty.

"They're back out there." Tosh whispered. "They're going to kill more..."

"Emergency lockdown!" Jack ordered.

"Jack, how are we supposed to get out if the've already made it out?" Tosh aked.

"Just do it." he said.

Reluctantly, Tosh got on her computer and authorized a lockdown.

"How did they get out?" she asked as Jack flew around the room, doing this and that that Tosh wasn't even sure about.

"I don't know." he answered.

"The cells glass can't break." she said, trying to figure it out, bringing up the footage. "Owen wouldn't have had his keys on him, and neither would Ianto, I assume."

Jack said nothing.

"You searched him before you put him in the cells, right?" she asked.

"No." he said.

"Oh." was all Tosh said.

"I forgot." he said as he turned to look at her. "I don't know why, but like an idiot, I just put him in the cell, I didn't think to take anything off him."

"Oh." Tosh said again, not knowing what else to say.

"It's my fault if anyone else is killed." Jack said. "It's my fault Gwen is dead, it's my fault Owen and Ianto are hurt, or hurt anyone else, it's my fault you were tortured like that."

"No it's not." Tosh argued.

"I tell people not to take things from the hub." Jack said.

"I know." Tosh nodded. "Doesn't mean it's your fault if they don't listen."

"I should keep track of what comes in here, keep it locked up, make sure none of you..." he rambled on.

"Jack!" Tosh yelled. "Just stop. We're not a bunch of children. We're adults, and no one made Ianto take that thing out of here." she said. "You can't fall apart now, Jack." she added as she took his hand. "You know more about all this kind of thing than I do, so you need to just stay focused and we need to find them."

"You're right." Jack said slowly, coming back to his senses. "Thank you."

"Anytime you need someone to scream at you, just let me know, it'll be my pleasure." Tosh smiled. "So, what do we do now?" she asked.

"Search." Jack answered. "I'll check the cells and the tunnels, you just sit tight, I'll be back." he added before turning to leave.

"Be careful." she called after him.

"I can't die, remember?" he called back as he headed down into the cells.

"Doesn't mean they can't hurt you." she mumbled as she sat there helplessly, hoping all would turn out well.


	8. Chapter 8

_"Two more bodies were discovered this morning at about eight thirty." _

The reporter was saying as Jack and Tosh watched, feeling guilty, angry and scared.

"_From what the police are telling us, these latest gruesome murders seem to have been committed by the same depraved indiviual or individuals responsible for the other three murders that have Cardiff panicked."_

The camera panned away from the reporter and showed a small semi-detached house in what seemed to be a quaint neighborhood.

_"Twenty-seven year old Angela Nicolo and her husband, thirty-nine year old Robert Winters, were discovered by Winters' mother. The scene is said to be as bloody as the first three, and all of Cardiff hopes the police are quick in catching this maniac."_

Jack turned off the television and sent the remote control sliding down the table, where it flew off the end and clattered onto the floor.

"Damn it." he hissed as he walked over and stared out the window of the confrence room, out onto the all-to-quiet hub. "Five people now, Toshiko." he said.

"I know." Tosh replied, "But the other night, we came very close to catching them." she said, clinging to anything positive.

"Close doesn't count." Jack said as he rested his head against the glass. "We need to actually catch them and lock them up until we can figure out how to get Owen and Ianto back."

"You nicked Owen when you shot." she reminded him.

"Yeah, and?" he asked as he turned around and stared at Tosh, prompting her to continue.

"I played with our ammo a bit." she said. "I added some GPS chips."

"So, why hasn't anything shown up?" he asked. "And, what if nothing is showing up because they took the bullet out?"

"I've gotten some small blips on my screen." Tosh said, her voice sounding just a touch hopeful. "Nothing too big as yet. Then of course, I don't know if their bodies are the same as before..."

"I'll have a look at that damed device." Jack decided, heading for the door. "Maybe it'll give something away."

"Jack." Tosh called after him. "Don't forget, Thursday." she added in a sad voice.

"Yeah, Thursday." he nodded as he headed off to his office.

Thursday. Gwen's funeral. Rhys had been reluctant to tell Jack and Tosh about it, still feeling they were somewhat responsible for Gwen's death. Jack didn't blame him though. He blamed himself, though, not Tosh. They were all here because of him. And now Gwen was gone, again, because of him.

Jack sat down behind his desk and pulled out the small device that seemed to bring an end to something good for Jack.

He thought back to Tosh's comment about their ammo. Just the other night, they'd gotten so close to nabbing the pair, only to have them elude them in the end. He had infact, knicked Owen as they ran away, but Tosh had been keeping a keen eye on her computer screen since then, and only a few very small, barely noticable blips had shown up. And those were sporadic at best.

He stared down at the device but nothing happened. It hadn't gone off recently, as it had when Owen had been pricked, and Jack did feel a bit relieved at that thought, but at the same time, it worried him. That was how he'd been able to locate Ianto in time to get Tosh to safety.

"Jack!" Tosh's excited voice called.

"Have something?" he asked, jumping to his feet and heading down to meet her at her desk.

"I have some readings." she nodded. She pointed to the sreen where a bright green dot was moving along east.

"Get the cooridinates." Jack said, grabbing his coat and heading for the door.

"Wait for me." Tosh called as she grabbed her laptop and ran after him.

Jack flew along as Tosh called out directions and coordinations to him. They ended up pulling up outside of an old factory, broken windows lined the one long wall they could see.

"The signal is getting stronger." Tosh said as she looked at the screen.

"Must be inside." Jack said as he opened his door and got out.

"We have to get them this time." Tosh said as she walked around the front end of the SUV to join Jack. "Sorry, stupid thing to say. Rather stating the obvious." she added with a nervous glance towards the buidling.

"Never mind that." Jack said as he took his gun from its holster. "Ready?" he asked.

Tosh nodded as she took a deep breath and they headed into the building.

The large door creaked on its hinges as they slowly and carefully walked in, Jack before Tosh, just in case.

"You go that way," Jack whispered, pointing to the left. "I'll go this way. Be careful."

Tosh nodded in agreement and headed off. Looking around, she saw nothing in the dimly lit space. Listening carefully, all she could make out was a rustling noise that she assumed must be rats or mice. Not enough noise to be a person, she thought.

She headed up a flight of stairs to an old dusty office over looking the main floor of the factory. Slowly, she opened the door and waited a moment before going in. As she stepped through the door, she felt someone's arm wrap around her neck and squeeze.

"Drop it." Owen's voice hissed in her ear.

She did as she was told, and let her gun fall to the floor with a metallic clunk.

"Tosh?" she heard Jack's voice call.

"Tell him you're fine." Owen ordered her.

"Everything's fine." She called back, trying to keep the fear from her voice.

"Good girl." Owen snickered. "Come along." he said as he moved along with her to another door. "Our friend is waiting for us." he told her as he led her down another flight of stairs.

"Hello, Tosh." Ianto said as he turned around and watched Owen walk down with her. "Long time, no see." he added with a smile. "How nice of you to come to us."

"Saves so much bother." Owen laughed. "Shall we?" he asked.

"Of course." Ianto said as he set down a box wrapped in brown paper.

"Tosh?" Jack's voice crackled in her ear.

"Don't be stupid." Ianto warned.

Tosh stared at the two men, and thought a moment. If she told Jack where she was and who else was there, they'd likely kill her. If she stayed quiet, they'd likely take her off and torture her again before killing her.

"I won't." she whispered. "Jack, there's an office at the top of the stairs, another door leading out, I'm..." she quickly got out as much as she could before she felt a sharp, shooting pain in her stomach and slumped to the ground.

"Tosh?" Jack said as he started running in the direction he'd last seen her. "Tosh!" he cried, fearing that he'd lost another of his friends.


	9. Chapter 9

Jack rushed across the factory and up the stairs Tosh had just taken. He could feel his heart beating so fast, it felt as though it was about to burst from his chest with each step. He flung open the door to the office and saw the other door Tosh had told him about swinging open, a trail of blood leading to it.

"Tosh!" he called, panic showing in his voice.

"Jack!" he heard Tosh call back before he heard her cry in pain.

Rushing to the door, he found himself outside again, and Tosh being dragged along by the hair by Owen, Ianto leading the way to a waiting car.

"Stop!" he called, hoping he wouldn't have to shoot.

"Bye-bye, Jacky." Ianto waved with a smile as he opened the back door of the car, Owen tossing Tosh in quickly.

"Stop!" he called again, raising his gun, ready to shoot if need be, hoping still it wouldn't come to that.

Owen blew him a kiss as Ianto climbed into the driver's side and Owen walked around the front of the car to get in the passenger side. Taking a deep breath, Jack shot Owen just as he opened the door.

"Bastard!" he heard Owen yell as he fell back with the force of the shot, grabbing at his arm.

Ianto quickly started the engine, hoping to take off before Jack fired another round. He hadn't expected him to actually open fire on his precious team members, but he'd obviously been wrong.

Jack let another round go as Ianto put the car in gear, and he slammed on the brakes sending himself face first into the steering wheel. Groaning in pain, holding his shoulder that was dripping blood, he took off again. This time Jack shot at the front tire and then the back.

Finding himself with two flat tires, and Jack baring down on him, Ianto opened the door and tried to flee on foot. Another jolt of shock hit him as he felt another bullet hit him, this time in the leg.

"I'm sorry, Ianto." Jack whispered as he walked over and knocked him unconsious. Turning his attention to Owen, he did the same thing, apologizing before rendering him helpless.

"Jack!" Tosh cried from the back of the car. The pain in her stomach was too much for her to be able to sit up and see what has going on. Besides, with so many bullets, she felt it was for the better if she had to stay down.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked as he opened the door and looked at her wound.

"I think so." she hissed as he moved the fabric of her shirt away. "Where are they?" she asked.

"Both knocked out." he answered.

"We need to get them back." she said. "I'm fine." she added, swatting Jack's hand away. "We need to go before they wake up."

"Fine." he said reluctantly. "Can you walk?" he asked as he gently helped her out of the car.

"Slowly, but yes." she nodded as she winced in pain. Laying down was most definitely the best way for her.

"I'll grab them." Jack said as he walked over and threw Ianto over his shoulder and falling into step with Tosh.

"Owen will stay out long enough, won't he?" she asked as she looked back over her shoulder just to see he was still out.

"Yeah." he nodded.

Tosh sat in the SUV waiting for Jack to return with Owen so they could go back to the hub. Her stomach still hurt, and lifting her shirt a bit, she cringed when she saw the raw gash across it. She was going to have to have that seen to, and wasn't eager to go to the hospital.

How would she explain that? She didn't think, "Oh, two of my co-workers went insane because of an alien device we scavenged, and well, they tried to kill me, I was rescued, but I ended up being stabbed this time, but luckily, rescued again!", would go down very well. She'd probably end up locked away in an insane asylum.

Jack walked up, carrying Owen on his shoulder, and put him in next to Ianto's slumbering form.

"You wouldn't think it to look at him, but he weighs a lot." he said as he pointed Owen. He looked down at Tosh's wound again, and then back to her.

"I know." she said. "Get them back, and I'll go to the hospital."

"Deal." Jack nodded before he went around to the driver's side and climbed in.

On the drive back to the hub, Jack and Tosh both kept looking into the back, checking again and again to make sure both men still slept. Neither knew what exactly they were going to do once they got them back, but they had to figure something out. At least with them both at the hub, even if Jack had to keep them both sedated, they knew where they were and that no other people could be hurt.

* * *

Tosh did as she promised. As soon as they got both men back to the hub and Jack injected both of them with another sedative, she went to the hospital, leaving Jack to figure something out.

He kept an eye on both of them, drugged out of their minds, chained and gagged. He hoped they wouldn't be able to howl as they had before, he didn't think his ears could handle that again. Neither could poor Janet or the soldier.

What to do, what to do?, he pondered as he read through multiple books, looking at different files they had on the computers. He could find nothing though. He looked once again at that device, hoping once again it would give something away as to how to stop what it had started.

He paced around his office, becoming more and more annoyed by his lack of progress. Tossing the device down on his desk, he looked out onto the main floor of the hub. They were waking up. He walked down to administer the next round.

"Jaghck." Ianto mumbled, trying to speak through his gag.

"I'm not listening to a word you have to say." Jack said as he filled the syringe. "Unless of course, you're going to tell me how to stop all this."

"Ygou canf't." he laughed.

"Wrong answer." Jack replied as he moved forward.

Ianto instinctively tried to shuffle back and away from the needle. "Mmmno." he said.

"How do I stop this then?" Jack asked, giving him one more chance.

"Ygou canf't." he repeated.

"There has to be a way." he sighed. "If there's not..."

If there's not what?, he wondered. What was he going to do if he couldn't think of a way to bring them back? One thought entered his mind, but he didn't like the idea. Freezing Owen and Ianto... If they didn't tell him, and he and Tosh could figure nothing else out, it might be their only option.

Ianto just laughed, his eyes twinkling with menace. Owen stirred beside him, laughing, it seemed, for no other reason then because Ianto was.

"Jack?" Tosh's voice called as she slowly made her way towards him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"They did some stitches, pumped me up on some painkillers, so now I'm here to help." she answered as she walked around the chained men. "Any ideas?"

"One." he answered, thinking again of his idea of freezing both men until they could come up with a long term solution.

"Where's that device?" she asked as she yawned. "I can take another look at it and see if I can figure anything out."

"In my office." Jack answered, turning back to Ianto and Owen, then looking down at the syringe he still held. "Sorry, bedtime again." he said, injecting both men again. "I'll go grab that for you." he added, turning to Tosh.

"Thanks." she said as she looked at Owen and Ianto. She turned and made her way over to her desk, and gingerly settled herself into her chair, watching as Jack returned.

"Think you'll be able to figure anything out?" he asked as he set it on her desk.

"Don't know." she shrugged. "Figured I could run it through a few different programs, see what pops up."

"Good luck." he said.

A few hours passed and still Tosh had come up with nothing. The two men were staying asleep less and less as they seemed to be building up an immunity to the sedative. They were becoming desperate.

"I had one idea." Jack said as the pair watched from the kitchen.

"What's that?" Tosh asked nervously.

"Freeze them." he said uncertainly.

"They'd still be alive, but we'd know where they are, and they couldn't get out to hurt anyone." she said with a slow nod. "I can't imagine coming to work everyday and it just being the two of us. Knowing that they're down in a freezer." she shuddered at the thought.

"It's starting to look like the only option." he said.

Neither said anything for a while, each trying to imagine what it would be like. Knowing one was dead and gone, never to be seen, and that the other two lay sleeping for God only knew how long before they knew how to bring them back as them old selves. A faint beeping drew both out of their thoughts.

"The device." Jack said, setting his cup down and dashing to Tosh's desk, Tosh following at a much slower pace so as not to upset her stitches.

"What's going on?" she asked as she walked up behind him, the beeping growing louder and louder.

"I don't know." he said as he reached for it.

Smoke started pouring out, the beeping grew louder and louder and shriller and shriller.

"Jack?" Tosh asked in confusion.

"Get back." he said, carefully moving her back and standing in front of her.

With a flurry of sparks, smoke and a small fire, the device seemed to implode.


	10. Chapter 10

Jack and Tosh stared at what remained of the device in shock and dismay.

"What if we can't..." Tosh began, not wanting to finish her sentence.

"I don't know." Jack said. "Other than..." he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He didn't want it to come to that.

Groans came from the area they had Owen and Ianto chained up. Looking back, they could see both men coming to. Nervously, Jack and Tosh walked over to them, hoping that the destruction of that thing had brought back their teammates.

"Owen?" Tosh whispered, hoping to see the old Owen look back at her instead of the cold, emotionless eyes that had been there at the factory.

"What the hell?" he asked, his voice slightly garbled by the gag in his mouth.

Tosh bent and carefully removed the gag and quickly moved back, just in case.

"What the hell is going on?" Owen asked again, anger and confusion obvious in his voice.

"You don't remember?" Tosh asked.

"What?" he asked.

Jack stared at Ianto, who returned his gaze, also looking lost and confused. One the gag was removed, Ianto looked back and forth at Tosh, Jack and then to Owen who still sat chained next to him. He also noticed that both men's wounds seemed to have suddenly healed. Neither made any complaint of pain, and the blood that had been seeping out of their wounds, flowed no more.

"This is looking a bit kinky." he mumbled groggily. "I've told you before, Jack, I wouldn't do that."

Jack burst out laughing, finding himself on the verge of tears as he recognized Ianto again.

"Wouldn't do what?" Owen asked, looking back and forth. "What weird things have you been thinking of, Jack?"

"Do you think it's actually them?" Tosh asked hopefully.

"It sounds like them." Jack said.

"Excuse me, we're right here!" Owen objected. "Don't bloody talk about me like I'm not standing right in front of you."

"Sitting." Ianto corrected him.

"Oh shut it." Owen said as he moved around. "Can we get these things off?" he asked.

"Think it's safe?" Tosh asked.

"I hate to say this," Jack said as he looked at the two chained forms. "But, I want to put you down in the cells for a bit."

"Why?" Ianto asked, becoming mroe and more concerened the more Tosh and Jack spoke.

"Where's Gwen?" Owen asked, looking around. "Off doing more wedding stuff while we're here doing the real work?"

"Gwen's..." Tosh began to explain, but stopped.

"We can explain that later." Jack finished for her, not wanting to explain Gwen's death at the moment, especially if Ianto truly remembered nothing at all.

"So, we get locked up?" Owen asked, worried by their hesitation.

"For now." Jack nodded. "Better safe than sorry."

"If you say so." Ianto said warily.

They were acting odd, and here he was in chains with Owen and no Gwen. What had happened? Last thing he remembered was sitting in his flat, watching television and folding laundry when there was a knock at the door...What had happened after that?, he thought.

Jack led the two down to the cells, Tosh following behind at a distance even more slowly than before because her painkillers had worn off.

"What's wrong with you?" Owen asked as Jack closed the door to his cell.

"Nothing." she said, forcing a smile. "Just a few cuts and bruises."

"Looks like more than just a cut on your arm." Ianto said, nodding to her bandaged wound.

"We can explain that later." Jack said. "When we're sure you're you." he added as he locked Ianto's cell door.

"When we're us?" Owen asked, looking at Jack as though he'd completely lost it.

"Long story." Jack said. "Toshiko and I will be watching on the monitors."

Owen and Ianto watched the pair disappear back up to the hub.

"What do you think that was all about?" Owen asked as he sat down on the low, hard bed.

"Have no clue." Ianto replied. "What was the last thing you remember before waking up chained?" he asked, curious if Owen was having the same memory loss.

"I was here in the hub." Owen answered. "Jack and I were looking at some little...thing."

"Some little thing?" Ianto asked, hoping Owen had more information than that.

"Yeah." Owen said, leaning forward and burying his head in his hands, trying to think back.

Ianto waited a few minutes, not wanting to interrupt Owen's attemps to dig up memories of what had happened.

"Tosh was missing." Owen said, looking up. "And Gwen..." his voice trailed off as he looked off into space.

"Gwen what?" Ianto asked.

"Gwen was dead." he answered quietly. "She was dead, Tosh was missing, and you..." the memories came flooding back, and Owen found himself scared. "Why the hell did you have that device?" he asked, standing up and pacing around his cel.

"What device?" Ianto asked. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"After we thought you were dead, Jack went round to your place." Owen said. "He found it..."

"Thought I was dead?" Ianto asked. "If this is some kind of joke..." he stopped, knowing that it wasn't a joke. Jack and Tosh had both been hesitant to talk about Gwen, and now he had a good idea as to why.

"Jack!" Owen screamed, pounding on the glass of his cell. "Get down here!" he bellowed.

Ianto sat in his own cell, staring at a spot on the floor. What was happening? Gwen was dead, they'd thought him dead, Tosh had been kidnapped. His stomach turned and he felt ill. He had done something. He didn't know what, but he knew he'd done something. Something horrible. Something unforgivable.

Owen contiuned to pound on the door to his cell, calling Jack names for not coming when he called.

"You rotten bastard!" he called at the top of his lungs.

Ianto's mind went back to that night at his flat when there was a knock at the door. He'd opened the door to find a package. There was something small and black, almost like a remote control. Flashes of long corridors flew through his mind. Black. Black clothes. Gwen. Oh dear God. Gwen!

His mind took him back to a grassy opening, Gwen standing there before him. A knife. A flash of silver as the knife flew across her throat. What had he done? His eyes flew around the cell. The walls felt as though they were closing in on him. He found it hard to breathe, as though his stomach had lodged itself in his throat. He closed his eyes to try to calm his mind, but instead, Gwen's shocked eyes looked at him. Blood streaming from her throat, he saw her fall as she said only one word.

"Rhys."

He felt tears streaming down his face as he fell to his own knees. What had he done? He sobbed. He rocked back and forth and held himself. He was a murderer. He'd killed one of the team. One of his friends. He was a monster. His breathing grew more and more irratic and he found himself on all fours, vomiting. Sitting back against the bed, he wrapped his arms around him again and dissolved more into tears.

Images of Tosh hanging by her arms from a ceiling were the next images to flash through his mind. A scalpel, blood. Salt. He wanted to die. He couldn't live knowing what he'd done. He'd hurt his friends.

"Why?" he sobbed.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Okay, final chapter up for this one. Hope you all enjoy, and thanks again for the reviews! Now I need to decide which to move onto next, picking up on the Bounty Hunter story, or starting up a new one with some new OC's I've thought up. I'm sure all those who regularly review will have some say, so let me know what you think. Thanks!**

* * *

Jack and Tosh stared at the monitors, hoping they'd be able to let Owen and Ianto out soon, knowing all would be safe.

"Jack." Tosh said, nudging him. "I think Ianto's remembering."

Jack's eyes flew to the monitor that showed Ianto. He was on his feet and heading for the cells when he saw the man rocking back and forth. He could only imagine the thoughts going through his mind at that moment. To remember that...

"Ianto!" Jack called as he opened the cell door and rushed into, sliding to a stop on his knees.

"I'm evil." Ianto wept into Jack's shoulder.

"No." Jack said. "It wasn't you."

"What's going on?" Owen asked.

Tosh followed just behind Jack, and watched for a moment as Jack tried to comfort Ianto. Her head jerked in Owen's direction when he spoke. Wasn't he remembering?

"Owen, what do you remember?" Tosh asked as she walked over in front of his cell.

"I remember being here at the hub..." he answered, becoming slightly annoyed at having to repeat himself.

"Do you remember anything about Gwen?" she asked nervously.

"Gwen?" he asked. He stopped to think a minute, trying desperately to bring back those memories from before he and Jack had gone looking for Tosh. Gwen hadn't been there. Where had she been?

Jack came out of the cell, supporting Ianto as he walked. Ianto barely lifted his feet as he moved along, almost falling, Jack being the only thing to keep him upright.

"She's dead." Owen said, causing another wracking sob to erupt from Ianto. "Gwen's dead...and..." he stopped, looking over at Ianto. "What the hell's going on?" he whispered.

"Kill me!" Ianto said, grabbing Jack's gun from him and stepping away.

"Ianto!" Jack cried, telling himself to stay calm. "Give me the gun."

"No." he shook his head. "How can you want to even be around me?" he sobbed. "How can you even look at me?"

"It wasn't you?" Tosh said softly, walking forward slowly. "It was that thing..."

"That thing used me." he reminded her. "It was with my hands that it killed Gwen, that it tortured you."

"Ianto, please." Jack pleaded, gaining some control over his emotions. "We all know that you would never do anything to hurt any of us."

"You're not capable of doing anything like that." Tosh put in.

"What about you, Owen?" Ianto asked, nodding to the silent man. "What do you think of me?"

"The same thing that I think of myself." he answered, his voice hoarse with emotion. "I did those things, too, remember?" he asked, looking down.

"You remember?" he asked, the gun wavering a bit.

"Bits." Owen mumbled, remembering bits and pieces as he spoke. "There was a couple..."

"Don't!" Tosh demanded. "Don't think of those things."

"How can we not?" Ianto asked, a frightening smile playing on his lips. "Those memories are a part of us now."

"We can give you Retcon..." Jack said, taking a slow, barely noticable, step towards Ianto and the gun.

"It won't change anything." Owen said as he leaned his head against the glass of the front of his cell.

"It won't bring those people back." Ianto added, shoulders slumping.

"It will make you forget." Jack said, moving closer once again, biding his time.

"Does Rhys know what I've done?" Ianto asked.

"He knows she's gone." Tosh said, swallowing hard as she said the words. "We haven't told anyone..."

"What will you tell the police?" Owen asked. "I assume they want to catch the sick bastards who did this."

"We can think of something." Jack said. "I won't let anything happen to either of you."

"You'll protect two murderers?" Ianto scoffed. "Are you going to Retcon yourself and Tosh?"

"We both know that it wasn't you." Tosh said, desperately wanting to get through.

"Ianto, please, let me help you." Jack said, quickly moving forward and grabbing the gun from Ianto's hand.

"No!" Ianto screamed. Jack grabbed ahold of Ianto and sank to the floor with him.

Tosh turned around to see Owen sitting on the bed in his cell. Walking over she knelt down, wincing in pain as she did so, and stared at him.

"Owen?" she said. "Please, let us help you."

Owen just stared at Tosh for a minute before turning away, looking instead at the blank wall.

"Help me get Ianto upstairs." Jack said, standing up. "I'll come back for Owen while you keep an eye on Ianto."

Tosh just nodded as she slung Ianto's free arm around her shoulder and helped Jack carry the weight, Ianto not wanting to move his feet at all. They settled him at teh desk in the conference room and Jack left Tosh so he could retrieve Owen.

"Ianto?" Tosh asked. "How about a cup of coffee?"

Ianto turned away from her, rather like a child pouting, and said nothing. Jack walked in, his hand on a slightly less reluctant Owen's shoulder.

"Good idea." Jack said, forcing Owen into another seat. "I'll go make some." he added before leaving again.

Tosh stood staring at both men, not knowing what to say. Nothing she said seemed to make much difference, other than to annoy them somehow. She wished she had the magic words to make all of their horrible, guilt-inducing memories disappear. But, she knew she didn't. No one did.

"Coffee." Jack called out after a five minutes of uncomfortable silence between Tosh and the others. "Drink up." he said as he placed a cup in front of each man.

He took a seat in his usual spot and watched in silence as they drank down their coffee, Ianto pouring himself a second cup. Tosh noticed how intently Jack watched them and wanted to ask why. When she sent him a questioning look, he gave a slight shake of his head which she took as a request for her to be quiet. She understood why when Ianto's eyes became heavy and his head began to sway with sleepiness.

"Jack." he grumbled. "Please, tell me you didn't..."

"I'm sorry." Jack said, leaning forward and setting his cup down on the polished wood table. "You and Owen were going to have to live with all of this...it would be torture." he added in a soothing tone, almost as if willing the two men to fall asleep. "I can't let that happen to you."

"Bastard." Owen groggily hissed as his head fell onto the table with a thud, followed closely by Ianto's.

"Jack." Tosh said. "You drugged them..."

"Would you prefer for them to go around knowing what they'd done?" Jack asked, clearing away the cups. "This is better. We can tell them some story to explain the lost time, and they don't have to live with the guilt that would come of reliving all of this."

"What are we going to tell the police?that." Tosh asked, adjusting Ianto's head so that he hopefully wouldn't wake from the Retcon with a kink in his neck.

"I'll handle all of that." he said as he left the room, leaving Tosh to stare after him. Knowing there was no arguing with Jack when he had that tone to his voice, she headed down to find some pillows and blankets for them. No reason to have them too uncomfortable, she thought.

* * *

Jack, Ianto, Owen and Tosh stood along side the open grave listening to the priest's words as they stared with teary eyes at the coffin that held Gwen's body. Rhys stood on the other side, a man and a woman on each side of him, his mother and father, so they were told. Rhys rested his head on his father's shoulder as he wept.

Jack and Tosh exchanged a look, each telling the other in that simple glance how uncomfortable they were in having lied to Rhys when telling him that Gwen had been killed by an alien, which was a truth of sorts, but that they had destroyed it. They hadn't destroyed anything. It had destroyed itself leaving Ianto and Owen to pick up the pieces and live with the guilt. That, of course, they knew could never be known.

As the casket lowered into the ground, more and more sobs escaped people all around. Each of the team members let themselves cry freely. Other than Owen. He refused to let others see him cry. He didn't know why, but when Jack, Ianto and Tosh all sat around sobbing, or simply sniffling, he forced himself to keep it all in. He had decided that was something that could happen in the privacy of his flat. Not around other people.

Ianto waited until Rhys stood by himself as his parents and Gwen's parents went to get the car. He slowly walked forward, nervous and not sure of what to say, or how to say it.

"Rhys." he said softly.

"Ianto." Rhys nodded, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.

"There were some things," Ianto sighed, holding out a package. "Gwen left them behind at work. Things from her desk, the kitchen, her locker..." he swallowed back more tears. "I thought you might want them."

Rhys stared at the package for a minute before finally taking it from Ianto. Jaw trembling, hands shaking, he nodded.

"Thanks." he just got out.

"I'm so sorry." Ianto said, feeling as though he more than anyone else, should apologize, but not sure why. "She was a wonderful person."

"Yeah," Rhys nodded, a sad smile playing on his lips. "She was."

"Son," Rhys's father said as he walked over and put his arm around his son. "Are you ready?"

"Definitely." Rhys nodded emphatically. "Thank you, Ianto." he repeated as he walked away, leaning on his father once again for support.

"Ianto." Jack said softly, coming to stand next to him. "We'd better leave. It's starting to rain."

Ianto simply nodded and moved off, looking back once more at Gwen's grave.

"I'm sorry." he whispered before turning his attention back to whatever it was Jack had been saying as they waited for Owen to bring his car around to take them all back to the hub.

Without Gwen.

* * *


End file.
